Critique of Criminal Reason: A Mystery (Hanno Stiffeniis Mysteries)

Michael Gregorio

A perfectly serviceable murder mystery where one of the detective is Immanuel Kant. The author, Michael Gregorio is a pseudonym for two Italian academics with deep knowledge of Prussia during the Napoleonic wars. Their knowledge of the history of the Konigsberg give the book a real sense of time and place but the portrayal of Kant as someone working on a book on the nature of the criminal mind is just, well, silly.

Still, the book is decently written and well plotted. If you like a historical murder mystery with overtones of Sherlock and Holmes, you could do worse. I wouldn’t go out of my way to read this one, but I wouldn’t be disappointed by having spent the time to read it either.

Recommended for the enthusiast.